Art of Zen V12 fa
Dharug and Gundungurra Country
The Groaning Gums
Spending time on one of my favourite training traverses, I first met Calem as he wandered down the cliffline from Devondale in Medlow Bath. I was curious about where he was headed, and he was more than happy to share his excitement about a nearby gully he’d started developing earlier that season.
He showed me what he’d found, and I had a proper look around for more potential. Sure enough, there were a few scattered lines tucked into the cliff line. One in particular caught my eye, initially around V9/10, but after some key holds broke off during the cleaning process, the remaining sequence looked significantly harder.
The gully itself is a wild place. When the wind is blowing the right way, it turns into a full-blown wind tunnel. Dead trees lean against each other that creak in the gusts, creating an eerie orchestra of groans, hence the name The Groaning Gums.
The boulder begins with a few delicate face moves before launching into a steep, vertical roof that demands full-body tension and precision. A beautifully & strange bric hold guards the crux when catching the undercling and holding the compression swing while both elbows clamp in like a T-Rex catching a dinner plate with 2 arms.
It’s a very cool & powerful move.
The wet seasons didn’t do us any favours. The creek ran often, humidity lingered, and good conditions were rare. But after dipping in and out of sessions over several seasons, I finally managed to stick what is genuinely one of the hardest moves I’ve ever done.
Psyched! 😆
Huge thanks to Calem for the motivation, the sessions and the stoke.
&
Pleasure Box V6 fa
Before joining the dark side, aka Mountain biking, Calem developed this & several other boulders from V3 – V6 @ The Groaning Gums. Here is the final chapter of his contributions:
romanwarrior.org 
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